star song
by onecupoftae
Summary: Jungkook meets a boy made of stardust by the Amanogawa river. — Taekook. Tanabata retelling.


**Summary**:Jungkook meets a boy made of stardust by the Amanogawa river. — Taekook. Tanabata retelling.

**A/N:** Written for Whispering Worlds: A BTS Fantasy Zine!

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Star Song

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The Amanogawa river seems to be made out of galaxies as it streams through the heavens like a blade that splits the sky in half. Jungkook dips a hand into the water and sees entire celestial bodies rolling off the waves in cycles of blue and azure and cerulean.

Today, it's calm here, by the riverbank. There is no breeze to rustle his robes and no noise to block out when he focuses on performing for the stars. Closing his eyes, he translates feelings into words and words into lyrics to produce something tangible, something real.

And when Jungkook sings, all of the heavens stop to listen.

The tune this time comes from a whisper of his heart, released out to the night sky in the form of a slow song. A star song. It ripples out in frequencies that resonate with the pulsing of white lights sewn into the universe above him and he thinks of shooting stars, skipping stones, silk fabric, rainbows, oceans, dreams, happiness—_euphoria._

As he reaches the last verse, full of long beats drawn out by fermatas, the water curls up around his hand to thread through his fingers, gentle like the touch of a lover. It swirls along the length of his arm as if to sustain the final notes of the song before retracting back to its source.

"That was beautiful."

Jungkook startles at the voice and opens his eyes to see a boy made almost entirely out of stardust. His hair gleams under the moonlight and when he steps closer, Jungkook notices freckles of light on his cheeks that shimmer as a smile spreads across his face.

"You were listening?" Jungkook asks shyly. He's not used to having an audience and even though no one is around most of the time, he often forgets that he's out in public.

"I hear you sing every night, but I just never gathered the courage to introduce myself until now," the boy admits. "I'm Taehyung."

_Every night? _Jungkook is sure his cheeks are supernovas, burning, as he shares his own name, but Taehyung only grins and walks over to join him at the edge of the riverbank.

"Can you sing that song again? The one about euphoria?"

So he does. He sings, watching the star boy sway along to the rhythm of his words, and for the first time, he feels like his voice is enough to paint constellations in the sky. He sings about shooting stars, skipping stones, silk fabric, rainbows, oceans, dreams, happiness—

And somewhere in the back of his mind, a voice whispers: _Taehyung, Taehyung, Taehyung._

.

After hours, days, weeks, of admiring Jungkook's singing from afar, Taehyung thinks none of that compares to tonight, when they sat by the Amanogawa river together. It had been surreal, magical. And as he watches Jungkook leave, he finds himself missing him the moment he steps out of view.

Returning to his post, the stars greet Taehyung like he's one of their own, gathering around him as if greeting a close family member.

"Oops, I didn't think it would be this late already," Taehyung murmurs as he reaches up to capture a star in his hands, cradling it gently and stroking at its corners in attempt to calm the celestial energy thrumming within it. "Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you guys."

He gathers a group of stars tucked tightly in his arms and walks along the Milky Way, hanging each one at regular intervals in the sky. When night falls, it's Taehyung's job to make sure that every star gets a chance to shine. They emit a soft glow once they're in position, and it looks a little different than usual this time, somehow; _feels_ different. Feels like—

"—euphoria," he whispers aloud, still hearing the lingering echoes of Jungkook's tune in his head. The star in his hands seems to agree with these thoughts, vibrating slightly as Taehyung moves to hang it in place among the others. He laughs before stepping back, and yeah, that's the sort of reaction Jungkook deserves for his singing.

When the entire sky is lit up with pulsing lights, he turns away and dreams of tomorrow.

.

The next time Jungkook returns to the riverbank, Taehyung is already there, waiting for him.

"What's the song this time?" he asks, eyes twinkling with anticipation.

Jungkook only smiles and responds with the first note of a melody, soft like he's sharing a secret. There's musicality even in the way he pauses to catch his breath between verses and he wonders when he got this comfortable performing in front of someone else. He used to be so scared of making mistakes, making a fool of himself; but now, it doesn't bother him at all to hear Taehyung's laughter when his voice cracks in the middle of a line or when he mispronounces a word.

Halfway through the song, he notices that Taehyung has stopped listening and he trails off his singing to glance around. In the sky above them, the stars are blinking on and off erratically, almost as if they can't control their shine. Their flashes cause the heavens to dim completely before lighting up so brightly that it's blinding, forcing him to avert his eyes. Jungkook has never seen anything like this.

Beside him, Taehyung's face has gone pale. He looks like he's fading, like he's—_dying. _

"What's wrong?" Jungkook's eyes are wide, panicked. "What's happening with the stars?"

He watches as Taehyung swallows hard. "They've—gone too long without supervision. They don't know how to act." Then, quieter, he whispers, "It's my fault."

"Your fault—?"

Taehyung shakes his head before standing up. The smile he gives Jungkook is made up of fading stardust and unspoken apologies. "I have to go."

"Wait—" Jungkook reaches out. His voice breaks and he's wishful, wishful, wishful. "You'll come back, right? You'll be here again tomorrow?"

In that moment, the sky plunges into complete darkness and whatever Taehyung is about to say gets locked up inside his throat. Then he's off, running through the heavens to fix something that shouldn't be his fault, can't _possibly_ be his fault. Jungkook frowns, his stomach twisting into ugly knots, and feels like a meteorite just moments until it's about to crash.

Truthfully, he knew the answer to his own question even before the words left his mouth.

.

When Taehyung is summoned to appear before the Sky King, Namjoon, the following day, there is no surprise. He shows up in front of the grand pillars made of clouds and waits to be addressed as he kneels by the steps of the Sky Palace.

On his throne, Namjoon's voice cuts sharply through the wind. "Kim Taehyung, Guardian of Stars, do you know why you have been summoned today?"

"Yes, your majesty."

"Stand," Namjoon orders, waiting for Taehyung to obey before continuing. This time, when he speaks, it is as an old friend rather than the ruler of the heavens. "The stars say you've been rather… distracted, lately. Tell me, what has caused your attention to be stolen from your duties?"

Bowing his head, Taehyung knows that he cannot argue with Namjoon's words. He thinks of recent nights, when he would turn his back on the universe in favour of catching chords and switching melody lines next to Jungkook. He remembers the feeling of being tugged forward by his heart, a kind of yearning that he's only seen once before, in the same way the moon pleads to the stars: _stay_.

"A boy," he replies eventually, a quiet breath released into the air. "I hear him sing by the Amanogawa river every night. Sometimes, I go to keep him company."

He doesn't say that he finds himself looking forward to meeting up with Jungkook in the late hours of evening, doesn't say that he would trade all the stars in the sky just to continue listening to Jungkook's song. Despite this, he thinks Namjoon already knows even without him confessing these feelings aloud.

The Sky King looks at him long and hard for a few minutes before his eyes seem to soften. "You're in love."

It's not a question, and Taehyung can only blink.

_Is he?_

"Remember, Taehyung, that your life is tied to the stars," Namjoon carries on, voice stern again but not without an edge of compassion. "For all of heaven's sake, I cannot allow you to interact with this boy any further. I hope you understand."

There is an apology somewhere in Namjoon's words, but all Taehyung registers is the end of his nights by Jungkook's side, cut short far too soon and too abruptly. He looks at his old friend on the throne of the Sky Palace and a cruel part of his mind whispers, _traitor_. For acting as a leader first instead of a friend; for making him give up something he finally found for himself. For forcing him away from a love he never got to realize.

But Namjoon is the Sky King, the one who oversees all things in this realm, and Taehyung is aware that he holds the cosmic weight of responsibilities on his shoulders. If Taehyung doesn't complete his duties, the stars will go astray, endangering everything in the galaxy—enemies and lovers alike.

Resigning but not fully accepting, he lowers his head and tries to stop his hands from trembling. "I understand."

When he walks out of the Sky Palace, Taehyung finds himself on the other side of the Amanogawa river with no way of crossing over. He steps cautiously on this foreign ground, taking in his surroundings. Comparatively, the two sides of the river are almost identical, with the same plants sprouting from the soil around his feet and the same celestial bodies orbiting overhead.

And yet—it feels emptier, somehow.

Lonelier.

.

Once upon a time, Jungkook sings a song for the stars in hopes that it would reach the boy he once knew.

He sings of shooting stars, skipping stones, silk fabric, rainbows, oceans, dreams, happiness—

But it never reaches euphoria anymore.

.

The air is still. The heavens are calm. There are no unwanted disturbances, nothing to disrupt the peace that the Sky King has worked hard to maintain.

On days like these, Taehyung hears the echoes of a song that sounds more like crying than singing. He looks across the Amanogawa river to make out the figure of someone that can only be Jungkook, and feels the star in his hands pulse in a way that mimics his heartbeat—sad and sombre and filled with longing. Even if tears fall from his eyes, he knows that it won't be enough to build a bridge across the river to reach Jungkook on the other side.

Instead, he continues to hang stars in the sky, leaving behind a piece of his heart with every one. They come together to form constellations, Taehyung's very own feelings manifested among the stars, and he thinks that no matter where he is in the universe, Jungkook's tune has always reminded him of a slow song. A sad song.

A star song.

He walks past the Amanogawa river and doesn't look back.


End file.
